Marines didn't retreat
like in Makua cartoon

This is in reponse to the Sept. 1 "Clay Figures" cartoon depicting U.S. Marines retreating in the face of bathing suit-clad protesters holding "Marines Go Away" signs on Makua Beach.

The issue of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit transiting Makua Beach has been at the forefront of dialogue between the Marine Corps and the Waianae community since July. The corps came to Waianae not to inform the neighborhood we would be crossing its beach, but rather to say, "This is what we would like to do. What do you think?"

We listened, understood and changed our landing plans out of respect for the community. For your cartoonist to depict the Marine Corps as retreating from the area mocks our determined effort. He also dishonors a service as old and honorable as the nation itself, which countless times has stood firm in the face of overwhelming odds and never retreated.

1st Lt. M. Celeste Ross
Deputy Director Public Affairs
Marine Corps Base Hawaii

Mother Teresa touched
lives of so many people

Any family who has a child from India, like us, is deeply saddened by the death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India. She was truly a living saint.

She treated the poor with dignity, compassion and respect. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Our hearts and prayers are with the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity. We pray that they will continue the work which Mother Teresa began in caring for all of the poor in India.

Let us all honor Mother Teresa with love and compassion in our hearts for all sentient beings in our world.

Greg, Keala, Tenzin and Jonathan Yuen

Solution to tainted beef
problem: Don't eat meat

"Big recall of beef causing shortages" (Aug. 22) and "Ag chief seeks right to recall meat" (Aug. 29) are two recent Star-Bulletin headlines highlighting meat safety issues.

In addition to the E.coli that initiated the present scare, meat is an active transport medium for roughly a dozen other viral, microbial and parasitic diseases. It contains no essential nutrients that the animal did not first acquire by eating plants, and contains excessive levels of saturated fat and cholesterol.

Instead of wringing our hands over the dangers of eating "tainted meat," why don't we just conclude that it's all tainted and just stop eating it?

Dr. William Harris
(Via the Internet)

DOE shows responsibility
in budgetary performance

Schools Superintendent Herman Aizawa and the public schools should be congratulated for incorporating an excellent spending system, which has resulted in unspent dollars for two consecutive years.

Budget Director Earl Anzai's assertion that the unspent money was unencumbered and therefore not needed in the first place is without logic.

The DOE has adequately explained how this situation developed and why it made sense to prolong encumbering funds until the last minute or sometimes even until the next fiscal period.

I am puzzled as to why the budget director did not ask the DOE for an explanation as soon as he was apprised of the existence of unspent money.

The DOE appears to be exercising more careful and better planning for utilization of its funds. These efforts are to be encouraged and commended.

Teruo Hasegawa

How can trustees say
education is priority?

Robert Midkiff made an excellent point in his Aug. 22 View Point column: The Bishop Estate trustees decision to end a nationally recognized early childhood education program was a tragedy.

This is especially critical when you consider that Chairman Richard Wong lists serving "tens of thousands of young Hawaiians...from pre-school to college..." as an accomplishment.

Indeed, it was probably politics that drove the ax into this program.

Matthew Lum
(Via the Internet)

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Same-sex archive

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